Internal-combustion turbine.



L. X. FOSTER.

INTERNAL COMBUSTION TURBINE.

APPLICAHON HLED JULY 7- 19.15.

1,287,277; Patented Dec. 10, 191

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2. L I

a INVENTOR luherXFoster To all whom it may concern:

UNITED STATES PATENT LUTHER xQ FOSTER, or NEW 'YORK, n. Y.

IINTERNA'L-COMBUYSTQIO'N TURBINE.

Specification of Letters Patent. Pate fed 10, 1918.

Application inea Jul 7,1915. Serie1No.38,4b1.. I

e 'ation, positivein itsacti'On -anCI of maxithe rotor whicheffectually.precludee the con'ipression piston,;and, sevefitlr 'rovemerits over the rotary engines heretojfore suggested; ain'on v-hich improvm' ntS may be .inentionetl, first, the -torrent {the structure in such inanner'that a cooling urrent may be passed about all {the H in is v r heatIn-g; second, t'hepa rtcular formation of leak-t age; third, the formation of-the .r such manner as toallow of theapp :e of piston rings thereto toffni thel' reclude leakage-and loss of;v power ;v fourth he controlling of the feed of motive fuel-toobvia'te excess speed; fiftln-the governing of the compression pistond-iliectly from the'rotory sixtlnthe governing of thetiring ei rcuit'by compression of the :motive fuel by th compression piston-direct1y Within-th ring pocket of the rotor. v

-,,-In one ofits practical forms, the invention embodies a casinginteriorly of v'vliichSis mounted arotor pi'm'idetl with a plurality of pockets or explosion chambel'siandon' said casing is mounted a sp'ring=controlled pi'stou governed by the circuinferenreof :the rotor wl1ere-by,\ vhen a pocket comcs in juxtaposition with the piston, the spring forces the piston-into the pocketfor the purpose of compression an explosive charge previously fed into said pocket. Means are provided for firing thc charge in'inlediatel after comn'vssion, and the rotation of the rotor forces the piston back to its initialposition. Means are also provided for circulating a cooling fluid about the inovable mrts for the purpose of. prm-lu'din'; overheating, and further means are cuip'l'o 'e d for governing the feed of explosive mixture to the turbine, whereby excess speed is precluded.

Features of tho invention.other than those Thepresentinventionembodies-many im- I wratei'jfa'cl et d, a

the

the i rotor t is is portion 7 of 'therotor, showin i which i a oniporiti n 'r: of the casing is shapedo-con n' toaiid intimately contactkwith Shaft A is rotatably supportedk'n th n e asingyD so that the rotor isfreegtorevolsetl ein. The Water orother cooling fluid which circulated through the jacket "n a manner hereinafter more nandescrih d, is precluded f1'0I11- COl ill.l]{I, into conta nulus (,of'lthe rotorbvthefii tir ite contact between portion ootthe' casing and the, rotor. and leakatzesisi' zrt herprecluded by forming lateral flanges (5 upon- ;the \YQlJ of .the-rotorand inserting e; fisionrings c? in and the portion "k l .2 5 .clea'rl \j'-'shmyii in Figs. l tlnls beunoted that the aunular {)(i'llltfll C of thea otor is completely housed within a correspondingly shaped chamber E- \vithinlthe easing, I I

The annular. portion of the roior is provided on its peripherywith-a g 'i'luralitv chambers oi -the turbi -le. .i

In the en ibodi'ment of theinveut'ion' shown laptcd to rotate 'iu a iu'n-- 'ectionas. slmivn: r Fig. 1

tercl ocluvise v andofor reasons hereinafter man fest each pocket provided with ac-i'u'ved face which forms an 'eas lope out to the peri-plwry of the rotor. This slope f foru s a ram surface for actuating the compression piston next to be desrrilwd.

Positioned radially of the rotor and be rspec'tivev detail section. (at a yond the circumference thereof, a piston chamber or cylinder G is formed in casing I), and interiorl of this cylinder is positioned a piston. Piston H provided with a stem 72,, which extends through a cap 9 threadedupon the casing and forming the cylinder-head of cylinder G. Intermediate the piston and the cylinder-head is positioned a spiral spring which normally serves to depress the piston, and the-lower shaped to enter any pockets are brought into u-xtaposition with saidpistoin, as shown in Fig. 1. If the rotor is moved in counterclockwise direction from the'position referred to, it will be obvious that the cam surface 1 of pocket F, into which piston H is pro ecting, will exert an upward force upon said piston to return it to its normally elevated position.

In Fig. 1 it Will he noted that pockets F are-of such extent as not to be entirely occupied by the piston when in its depressed position, but that a fair portion of said pocket will be left unobstructed. It is in this portion of the pocket that the motive fuel, after bein ompressed, is fired, and this firing is accomplished through the medium of a spark plug I which projects inwardly through the wall of t-hecasing D,the portion 0 of the casing, and into a chamber 2' injuxtaposition with the unobstructed portion of firing pocket F.

The operation of the device as thus far described is as follows: Assuming that"rotor B is turning in a counter-clockwise direction, each pocket,

which is in communication with a carbureter, not shown. Thus, as each pocket passes inlet duct J motive fuel is fed'into said pocket preferably under slight pressure. Asthe rotor continues its travel, the pocket is almost 7 into juxtaposition with piston H, whereupon spring 1 which is under tension, forces pistonH- intosaid pocket, with the result that'the motive fuel therein As soon as the compressing action of the piston is completed, an electric current is passed through the spark plug I, thereby firing a charge. The firing of the charge accelerates the movement ofthe rotor by creating a pressure against the piston, and the cam surface fofthc pocket in which the charge has been fired forces piston H upwardly as said cam surface traverses the lower face of said piston, so that, by the time said pocket has been moved to a position beyond the piston, said piston will have been raised to its elevated position and, as the rotor continues to turn,

I the lower face of said piston will ride upon the circumference of annular member ,C of the rotor, until the next pocket comes into position for compression and tiring. The

sulation Z upon cylinder-head g, and contacts Z Z proas it approaches the region of piston H, passes an inlet duct J instant the immediately thereafter brought.

is compressed.

gases act to drive the rotor so long as the piston remains in the pockets F. During this time, following the ignition, the gases expand and do work between the forward face of the pocket and the relatively stationary piston. However, after the piston leaves the pockets F, the gases no longer do work in the pockets, but are carried around to the exhaust port and there discharged. In this manner successive expansions'impart successive-impulses to the rotor as the pockets pass by the piston H. u

To 'obtainthe best results, the firing should occur'at the instantpiston H has completed its compressionstroke and, to insure this,

the electric circuit 2', through which current is fed to the spark plug I, 18 provided with a circuit closing switch L, which is con trolled by the piston itself. Switch L may be of an desired form, but is here shown as embo ying a pair of spaced spring contacts Z Z, which are mounted upon a block of in- Block of insulation Z is mounted ect inwardly into close proximity with the piston stem-h; Stem 7, projects through the piston-head, and an insulated disk It is secured thereon by means of a nut k Spring contacts Z Z arenormally spaced apart, but the relation between them and the insulated disk h of the piston stem is such that, when piston H descends, disk it will contact with contact Z and form the same into engagement with contact Z, as clearly shown in Fig. 2. In' the circuit 2" is included theusual source of electrical supply 2' and coil-box i, the circuit being grounded to the casing so that, as the piston is forced down into oneof the pockets F under the action of spring g, for the purpose of compressing the charge, said charge will be fired at the piston reaches the end of its downward travel.

The exhaust of the spent gases or prodacts of combustion is accomplished through an exhaust port M, which is shown as post tioneddiametrically opposite from piston H, i. e., at'the bottom of the housing. Thus, as the rotor revolves, each pocket F is brought, subsequently "to the firing operation, into. juxtapositiomwith the exhaust port M, and

the wastepi-oducts of combustion are disof the intimate; relation which casing portion 0 bears to the rotor and, moreover, by the rings 0 which are positioned hetween these parts. Leakage is precluded betweenthe several pockets F by placing piston rings N between adjoining pockets in such manner as to embrace the annular portion (J of the rotor. These piston rings are positioned in grooves 11. formed in the surface of member C, as clearly shown in Fig. 3, and are of a resilient nature, thereby causing them to contact with the interior of chamber E.

It will thus be apparent that the particular formation of the rotor disclosed has many advantages, in that it allowsof the placement thereon of rings N, as well as rings a. The great ditliculty with prior art devices of this class was that leakage could not be prevented and. consequently, no appreciable amount ofcompression could. be obtained. Thus, by the formation ot the. device of the present invention as described, the apparently insurniountabledisadvantage prevalent in the prior artlevices is obviated in a simple and expeditious manner.

Another feature of the present invention residesin the factthat. the speed of the turbine is automatically controlled; This is accomplished by associating a fly-ball governor O with shat't A. With said governor cooperates a. lover a, pivoted at a, and engaging at its opposite ends with-the stem ,0 of the valve 1" included in the motive fuel supply pipe 72 which leads to the carbureter. Thus, if the turbine acquires a speed greater than that.predetermined,governor 0 automatically operates to diminish or entirely shut oil the supply of motive fuel. However, when the turbine slows up again, governor O automatically reopensthe valve. Thus, a constant and. unvarying speed is maintained, and this may be further assured.

- by the positioning of a iiywheel Q upon shaft A of the rotor;

As heretofore stated, means are provided for precluding tlieover-heating ot the parts .during operation, andthis means is shown as a device for passing. a cooling fluid through the casing and interiorly of the rotor.- Shaft, A passes through substaa' tially the center oi the casing and, at one side of the rotor, saidcasin'g is formed with an inwardly projecting Wall 7*, the. inner edge of which is substaiit ially in contact with web I) of the-rotor.

vallof the casing and the otor, a partition r is positioned,thereby dividing the space within wall 0' intotwo clianibers s s; In

the. chamber s" adjacent the rotor is posh tioii'ed a centrifugal pump S fixed on the shaft and provided with a plurality of v all r is substan tially circular and, intermediate the outer l The. operation of the-pump will be obvious. but may be briefly stated as follows: The cooling fluid is fed through pipe '1 into chamber a, and passes through inlet port t, into the interior of pump S. VllQLl S, be-

ing fixed on shaft A, rotates with rotor B,

and the cooling fiiiidthus emanates from outlet port 2" into the casing oi the turbine/ The casing is shown in the drawings as divided, in a plane perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the rotor, into two parts, which are secured together by means of bolts 11. or other equivalent devices, and the cooling fluid fed into one lateral half of the casing passes through apertures a" in the ad Joining parts of the easing into the other lateral half thereot, to be subsequently-discliargcdfroin outlet pipe T at the upper portion of the casing. As longas the rotor- 18 operating, the pump is also actuated and, consequently, a. constant circulat on of 0001-.

ing fluid is passing through the casing and The turbine is. provided with a suitablesupporter standard N to maintain the device in proper operative position, but this supporting means may be of any desired character, depending, of course, on the use to which the machine is to be adapted.

Throughout the accompanying drawings and the foregoing description, no attempt; has been made to'show or describe such ac cessories as lands )tlclilll boxes, and other well known devices conin'ion to all engines "and these parts have been omitted in the interest of clearness. It will be manifest, however, that, .if desired, shaft A may be properly packed to preclude leakage of the cooling fluid from the casing and that suitable lubricating devices will be employed.

l urtherniore, suitable change speed or reverse gearing .n'iay be associated with the turbine, but this forms nopart of the present inventionand a showing thereof is unnecessary, as'th'e rotor may be secured directly to shaft'A and drive the same in a constantdirt 'tion. all speed gearing, eta, being positioned externally of the casing, the same 'being of any well known, conventional type.

*ilie embodiment of the invention illustrated is the i'ireferred "form, but, manifestly, slight changes maybe made in adapting the invention to its various environments. 'llloreover, the invention embodies several improvements whicln'wlien used in conjunction with one another, result in a therefore, broadlynov'el as commensurate with the appended claim.

Having thus fully described the invention,

some of the features of my invention with-- employing all, and I do,

out necessarily consider my 1nvent1on to be as what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

In, a machine of the class described, the combination of a jacket-ed casing, a rotor rotatably mounted therein, said rotor being provided on its periphery with a plurality of pockets, a reciprocating piston positioned radially of the rotor and the circumference thereof, a spring for forcing the piston successively into the pockets when the pockets of the rotor are brought into juxtaposition therewith for the purpose of compressing directly within the pockets, motive fuelpreviously fed thereinto, means for successively feeding said motive fuel into the pockets, and means controlled by movement of the piston for firing said motive fuel when compressed by the piston.

In testimony whereof I have slgned'my name to this specification.

LUTHER X. F OSTERQ normally beyond 

